This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The central aim of the proposed research is to assess the feasibility of Wide-field Functional Imaging (WiFI) as a method that will provide objective functional parameters that can be used to determine severity of burn wounds. Accurate determination of burn depth and extent, which is directly related to healing times, is one of the major problems that face any clinician or surgeon in deciding on how to treat skin burns. Thermal injuries are clinically classified according to the depth of the injury as superficial, partial thickness or full thickness. Superficial burns are mild burns whereby the tissue is capable of regenerating the epidermis. Partial thickness injuries destroy a portion of the dermal layer and re-epithelialization can occur if there is sufficient dermis with an adequate vasculature. Full thickness injuries involve destruction of the dermal layer and the reduced blood supply will result in ischemia and necrosis. While both the superficial and full-thickness burns are relatively readily diagnosed, partial thickness burns are difficult and carry with them considerable potential for complication. Overestimation of the burn depth in partial thickness burns results in invasive excisional treatment while underestimation will delay appropriate treatment and potentially lead to infection. In addition, burn wounds undergo dynamic changes during the early stages that must be monitored continually in order to inform proper burn management. The primary method of determining burn depth and severity is bedside clinical assessment and it suffers from being highly subjective. Its accuracy, even by experts in the field, is only 60[unreadable]80%. There are several technologies in development, in an effort to improve objectivity, however thus far, each of these has limitations that diminish clinical impact. Here we propose to investigate the feasibility of WiFI for quantitative assessment of graded burn wounds in a preclinical model. Efforts will focus on the establishment of a controlled, graded burn wound model, WiFI Imaging of these wounds, analysis and optimization of WiFI data.